Swallowed by shadows
by silentfan9
Summary: Danny runs from the demons of his past and the hunters, when he runs into an agent and things start changing. bad summary i know but i'm not even sure where this is going, i only know that this hasn't been done. dark fic, and should be treated as an AU. don't knock it till you read it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: the bad news I own nothing of the DC/DP franchise, the good news I own everything that is in this story that isn't part of those franchises which is probably most of this**

 **AN: To those that decided to read this (and not just skip to the story) you shall be warned that this has practically zero cannon material and as such will be drastically different, a lot of the organizations will be different, or completely my invention all together, and some characters (not batman, cause you just can't mess with batman too much) will be out of character or have a character that's meant to make you think I'll of them or some other change to them there will be some OC's. and one final warning Danny was ABUSED in this fic and as such there will be flashbacks and instances were he starts acting meek compared to other times, if you can't handle that don't read. To those that can, I hope you enjoy the fic**

I don't remember how I got to this point anymore, just that I can never go back. Not to the place I was raised, not to the people I knew, not to the family that raised me. Not since the accident that changed everything, especially me. Before I was just another ordinary kid with a loving family and loyal friends, then my parents made a strange machine that they called the ghost portal and they claimed that it would prove that they were right and that their life's work wasn't in vain. The only problem it didn't work when they plugged it in, they become really depressed after that.

A few days later I was telling my two friends about what happened and how I wished there was something I could do. Sam, one of my two friends at the time suggested that I take a look inside of it. I didn't think it was a good idea at first, even though I was taught how to work and make a lot of the things there, but she talked me into it.

A few minutes later I was slipping on my white and black hooded (I had talked my parents into adding a hood a day after the failed start-up) hazmat suit, thankfully my parents didn't make it a skin tight hood but one that is similar to that you would see on a cloak, and was about to enter the portal, which looked like a high-tech hole in the wall of our basement, when Sam stopped me and turned me so I was facing her, all so she could tear off the sticker of my dad's face (over wise known as the only thing I couldn't get my parents to ditch) then told me to go ahead.

Almost as soon as I entered I was captivated by the sear complexity of the portal, trying to figure out how each piece worked as well as the roll they played in the device. So captivated was I, that I forgot to watch my step, and so my foot caught in some loose wires causing me to trip forward. I had stretched out my hand reflexively to catch my fall by grabbing the wall, and in doing so hit the on switch, that of course just had to be inside the machine.

The next thing that I knew was a tremendous amount of pain over riding my sense of touch, a loud scream deafening my ears, a bright green light blinding my eyes, the smell of decay clogging my nose and some type of goop forcing its way down my throat. Then there was blackness, I knew nothing, not the time I was in the portal nor the time I was in the blackness, though I am told that I was in the portal for two hours and unconscious for two days.

When I woke up, I was strapped to a metal table with my parents hovering over me, talking about some type of specimen. I looked to my right and saw a mirror, only what was on the mirror wasn't quite my reflection. Some of it was obviously my features but the eyes, hair and complexion was wrong. Its eyes were a glowing radioactive green, the hair a subtly glowing white, and the complexion was too pale to be mine. But it must have been me, for it moved every time I did in exactly the same way.

I remember thinking that I wanted my old look back, and how only a second later there was a flash of light traveling along my body and then I was staring at my old reflection again, then there was darkness again.

The next time I woke I was in my room, but it was stripped of what used to be there, and it was remade into some kind of cell. I soon learned that that was exactly what it was, my parents upon finding that the ghost they were studying was in fact their own son, shoved me into my redesigned room with a shock collar designed for ghosts, the only time I was allowed out was for experiments and "training". And that was my life for the next few years, and in that time I learned many things, like that whenever I did something "wrong" I was punished, and that my loyal friends weren't so loyal and that I was little more than an abomination in the eyes of my parents.

After those first few years though I started planning for my escape, I didn't have any paper or writing utensils so I had to use my head and hope I don't forget anything. My plan was simple and unpredictable, and it worked perfectly just a few hours after I was far away from my former home and prison and had managed to ditch their collar.

Now I wonder the world, training in the use of my ghostly abilities, both new and old, and pushing my limits, but I'm not just training I'm running and hiding. I'm running from my past, and I'm hiding from those who hunt me. I don't know much about those that hunt me but I do know that they wear white and they don't quit, as such I never stay in one place too long and wherever I stop I'm forced to steal.

No matter where I go though there is always a few constants, a shadow hanging over my head, a rule to never allow anyone to get to close, and the nightmares that plague my sleep.

My current residence is an abandoned building in New York City, I've been hiding here for a week barely surviving off what I've stolen. There's just one problem with my current location….. It's being torn apart by a maniac, the good news some kind of military forces are moving in to take him out, the worse news one of the soldiers saw me using my abilities to defend myself.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER ONE:

'I knew I should have left but nooooooo, I just had to stay one more day. Now look at me being carted off to who knows where. Why'd that maniac have to start tearing the place apart right when I was leaving!?' I'm currently in the back of a van with five others and I'm the only one wearing cuffs and each of the five others had a gun pointing my way, so no chance of even thinking of a way out…. yet. How did I end up here well I had just finished getting my stuff together and was just leaving the building I was hidden away in when a maniac, who I have no clue as to the identity of, and his henchmen, who seemed to be some kind of demon ninja things, attacked and are tearing the place apart. I figured that I should get out of this place fast and so made my way out using the alleys and shadows.

Along the way I noticed groups of people in bulky black and grey armored outfits, I figured they were here for the asshole who attacked the city so I avoided them. I was doing fairly well until some of the earlier mentioned demon ninja things attacked me, forcing me to attack back. There was ten of them against one of me and they had me surrounded, I didn't see one of the armored figures sneaking up behind us, so I did the logical thing and changed into my ghost form. They were temporarily stunned by the light allowing me to dispatch three of them with some ectoblasts, which they didn't seem to like as they vanished in a flare of flames, in that time the others recovered and attacked. One sent a kick to my head, that I quickly ducked before sending an ecto enhanced punch into his (her?) crotch and like the first three this one too disappeared in flames. The next one punched my back while I was facing away from him and me sent towards a wall but I recovered enough to flip so my feet impacted first then jumped towards him, ecto enhanced fist first, he managed to dodge, but the one behind him wasn't so lucky. Using the one I just took down I sent an ecto enhanced kick to the one who dodged and managed to hit his head.

"And then there was four" I said as I turned to the four stunned DN's, who weren't very good fighter if they were losing to me.

Before they could react I sent some more ectoblasts their way hitting one while the others dodged out of the way. I stopped firing after that, knowing that it wouldn't do anything, and rushed towards one of the last three DN's, making him think I was going for close combat, and when I was just outside firing range blasted him in the face, he seemed quite surprised that I did something like that, then using the bright flames he left behind I turned invisible and made my way behind the last two who happened to be standing together, I turned visible before blasting them in the back.

"And then there was only me" I said to myself before turning to leave and running straight into a gun that was pointing at me.

"Sorry kid, you're going to have to come with me" was the surprisingly feminine voice that came from behind the black masked figure holding the gun "and I'm going to have to ask you to turn back too" To this I just hung my head and did as asked, next thing I know I'm in this van going wherever it was heading.

The van stopped maybe two hours later, I'm not sure how long exactly as I don't tend to keep track, course it doesn't help that I don't know where it stopped either, and then the van started moving again but it seemed to be moving…... down? After we stopped going down the van moved forward before stopping somewhere else. At which point my captors put a blindfold on me before shoving me out the door and onto the pavement.

They then dragged me to my feet and started pushing me somewhere, there was a lot of twists and turns. When we finally stopped I heard a door open before I was shoved through. I was left there to wait for some time before realizing that they still had my bag of stuff, including my cigarettes' which I grew addicted to after finding they had a calming effect on my mind.

Female agents point of view:

We had just dropped the kid off in one of the interrogation rooms, I had given the kids bag to a guard to look through before leaving, and were now making our way to the director's office. It wasn't a long walk before we arrived.

We were admitted entrance, almost as soon as we knocked, into the Spartan office (it only had the basic necessities for an office, a desk, and a couple bookcases of info on different subjects, a filing cabinet, and a computer, along with different desktop equipment like pens). Behind the desk is a women of African descent in a women's suit.

"Report" was the only comment she made as she continued to type at her computer.

"All mission objectives accomplished with no complications" I said, as only that was required for the report and the only time you're supposed to add anything is if there's a complication. "How ever there was something that happened with the last ten hostels"

"I thought you said there was no complications" she said, finally looking up from what she was doing.

"And there wasn't, however we weren't the ones to take those ten out. It was some kid with an ability" she looked at me as if trying to judge who the kid was through me, before speaking up.

"Describe the kid for me" she ordered

"Male, black hair, blue eyes, aged around seventeen, height 5'4". Other known characteristics are a separate form with white hair and glowing green eyes, the ability to make green energy around his hands and fire said energy. Wears a dark hoodie and black jeans, separate form wears a black hooded hazmat suit with white trim, gloves and boots"

"Hmmmm, take me to him" she ordered, five minutes later we were looking through the window into the interrogation that the boy was in, and it seemed he was in total freak down mode as he seemed to have crawled his way into the corner and curled up there shaking.

"Not exactly what I pictured of a kid who took down ten opponents single handed" the director stated

"He wasn't like this when I left him" I replied with a frown, before turning to the guard "did anyone go in there between the time I left to the time I came back"

"No, captain" he replied, before continuing "he just started freaking out a little after you left, while mumbling something"

"Did you finish the search of his bag" I questioned

"Yeah he had a change of clothes a sleeping bag and a lighter with half a pack of cigarettes"

"What the heck is a kid doing with a half a pack of cigarettes" I said.

"Give the kid the cigarettes and lighter" the director spoke up, for the first time since I started questioning the guard.

"ma'am?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No, ma'am"

"then get to it" and with that the guard rushed to get the cigarettes and lighter, returning a few minutes later with the desired items and giving them to me.

Danny's point of view:

The agent was only gone a few minutes before my mind started to replay the images in my mind, images that spilled out into the world around me as hallucinations, of my mother coming towards me with a scalpel and my father with some new device they want to test, the looks on my "friends" faces when I went to them after finally getting away. I'm glad I never went to see Jaz and never saw her after the accident, this way I can at least imagine that she would still love me and treat me like her brother. Those images and more kept flashing and appearing around me.

I barely heard the door open but I just assumed that it belonged to the images so I whispered "please no more, why do you keep doing this to me, your son, why"

Female agents POV:

I opened the door and walked over to him but stopped when I heard him speak

"Please no more, why do you keep doing this to me, your son, why" my gut clenched horribly at that but steeled it anyway and slid the lighter and cigarettes to him before walking out again, missing the flinch when they hit him but not the rushing noise after he realized what the items were. Then I was back by the director.

"What did he say?" she asked

"He said 'please no more, why do you keep doing this to me, your son, why'" she looked at me sharply when I finished.

"Find out what you can from him when he calms down then report back to me" she ordered, then left

Danny's POV:

I felt something hit my side and flinched at the contact, after not feeling anything else I opened my eyes to see my cigarettes and lighter, I quickly scooped them up. Rushing to take one out and stick it in my mouth to then light up. It only took a couple puffs for my heart to slow down and a couple more for the images to start to fade.

By the time the cig was done my mind was as calm as it was in the van. Then the armored lady came in.

Female agents POV:

"So now that you've calmed down, how about you answer some of my questions, hmmm" it wasn't a question, despite being phrased as one. "First what's your name?"

He smirked "Common curtesy demands that you give yours before asking mine"

"Okay my name is captain Sandra Wallace, now what's yours?" I said then leaned in, daring him not to give me the info

"I use to be Danny Fenton, now I don't know anymore" he replied, a dead fake smile in place on his face. Okay that's odd.

"What do you mean you don't know anymore?" I asked

"Shit happened, now I don't even know what I am" hmmm this might be a little more difficult than I thought.

"What happened?"

"You know the usual, my scientists parents made something, it didn't work, I go in to check it out a few days later on a dare from a friend, I trip hit the on button get zapped and black out wake up for long enough to see my appearance changed and that I'm strapped to a table, turn back to my regular looks and then blackout again. You know how these things go" he said all nonchalant, but I saw the pain in his eyes.

"What happened then?" I asked but didn't really want an answer.

"I woke up in my room, but it was not my room anymore, it was my new cell. It was where I spent my time in-between the various experiments and 'training'" I did not like the sound of that, not one bit.

"What kind of experiment's and what did the training entail?" I had a feeling I really didn't want to know, especially after I saw the reaction he gave to the questions. He shivered violently while his eyes were shut and he had an overall expression of extreme fear, and then he rushed to get another cigarette.

After a couple puffs he calmed down enough to talk "s-sorry, bad memories. Anyway they did a great many experiments, some were focused on me, others I was the _target_ and sometimes the tested something different on me" he said, putting stress on the word target. "And they used a shock collar to make sure I behaved, and did what I was told" again he smirked but it seemed too dead to be real.

Just then my phone dinged, it was a text. It said 'got a hit on the name. He matches the description. He was reported missing by a classmate, by the name of Dash Baxter a little over three years ago, but his parents didn't push for a search until about two years ago. I did a little digging and found out that he was supposedly friends with a Tucker Foley and Samantha, or Sam, Manson. But apparently they used to keep everyone from getting close to him and did things that would cause him to get in trouble or cause him to become self-conscious, all without him finding out. And when he didn't show up one morning they didn't seem to care at all. Now his parents on the other hand were paranormal scientists who focused on the study of ghosts, they were incredibly intelligent but chose to use that in the worst study every. They seemed to care for him until he went missing, then all of a sudden just stopped and said that they didn't have the time to look for him cause they got a recent breakthrough in their research, which as I said is in paranormal science, and would have to focus on it some other time. But his sister, a Jasmine or jazz Fenton seemed genuinely worried and immediately went to search for him around town and nearly went to search farther then that if her parents didn't forbid her from doing so, said it was too dangerous. Shortly after that she graduated high school and moved away from them, and apparently now assumes her brother is dead and blames her parents for not letting her search for him. Her parents seem to have tried to contact her multiple times but always fail. That's all I found' well that's quite the life.

"Was that all the questions then" I jumped a little having forgotten that he was there, and apparently quite hopeful that this would be over.

"I'm afraid not, you still need to describe the 'training'" I stated

"T-they s-shocked me whenever I did s-something 'wrong' or d-didn't do what they said" he managed to stutter out.

"What do you mean by 'wrong'?" I asked, though by now I just wanted to get this kid some help.

He swallowed nervously before answering "anytime I questioned them, asked them something or made a noise or move they didn't like they shocked me, same for if I refused to do something or didn't answer their questions"

"Last question, could you tell me who performed the experiments and 'training'" I asked despite knowing that it was most likely-

" _My parents"_ he practically spat out. Yep that's what I thought, and I am so going to try and get them in jail

"Right that's all the questions, now it's time for you to visit the doctor for a check-up" and just like that he was gone from the chair and in the corner farthest from me, and I was stunned, how the heck did he do that.

Danny's POV:

Immediately upon hearing that I tensed and flung myself into the farthest position from her possible while repeating "No check-ups, no check-ups, no check-ups, no check-ups" continuously, as my vision swam with memories.

Memories of how my mother would walk into my room-turned-cage with a sadistic smile on her face and a scalpel in one hand and a needle filled with a strange liquid in the other. Of how she would say "it's time for your check-up sweetie" in her sweetest voice while walking towards me. Of how once she was close, she would viciously jam the needle into me and watch as I would scream in agony.

Memories of how my father would strap me to the table and say "there, all ready for your check-up" with a big smile on his face, right before he'd cut me open and look at my insides, commenting on each organ. Of how he'd touch different plants and devices to my organs and see what happens.

Sandra's POV:

Upon seeing him start babbling I got up and rush over to him and try to reassure him "Look it's just a normal check-up where they take your temp and check your blood pressure and things like that. So just calm down" he didn't, then I remembered the last two times he was panicking like this, he had calmed down after having a cigarette, so I quickly get up and go get him one and the lighter after which he begins to calm down again.

"S-sorry, my…..last few 'check-ups' weren't the best experiences" he said with grim humour, causing me to remember that his last few check-ups were probably done by his parents and that they probably weren't very nice.

"Well with these ones you got nothing to worry about" I try to reassure.

After he's calmed down enough, I motion for him to get up and follow me to the medical wing of the base. Once there I leave him with a doctor and a guard and go to make my report to the director.

Danny's POV:

After captain Wallace left I took a look around well the doctor gathered the stuff he'll need, there was a lot of fancy equipment around that looked medical in nature but also didn't look like what you'd find in a hospital for a long time yet.

"Ok that should be everything I need for the exam, let's get started, shall we?" After he said that he did all the usual stuff, like blood pressure, heart rate and all that, and then things got a little weird as he had me strip down and get in one of the machines, which made a whirling noise before stopping and then he had me lay on a bed which had things that looked like scanners over it and they went up and down my body before stopping and he got me to flip over to repeat the performance , then he had me lay on another bed which took a couple scans of my brain. Once all that was done he looked over the results.

"Either there is a glitch or your vitals are all below the norm" he said to himself

"They're below the norm, it's natural for me"

"Ah, he speaks, I was wondering when you'd break your silence"

"You didn't ask me anything I needed to answer" I responded, at which he blinked.

"Ok, then. Given that your vitals are normal for you, I'd say your perfectly healthy physically if a little scarred and underweight but from the brain scans you appear to be suffering mentally, I'd suggest going to a psychiatrist to work that out if I were you. One more thing, have you been smoking?" The doctor finished with a question.

"Yes I have for four months and three weeks, it's the only thing I found that calms me down"

"Hmmm, well it's causing a bit of a problem for you, if you don't slow down on the smoking your healing factor isn't going to be able to clear the toxins out fast enough"

"How'd you know about my healing factor?" There's no way anyone could have figured it out, not when I haven't had anything happen to me to cause it to become known.

"Remember that first machine I had you sit in, it is able to study someone's body and figure out if they have abilities and if it's already got info on a particular ability it'll tell me" he said with a smirk

"Fuck you too" I respond, very maturely too I might add, but he just keeps smirking. The doctor then hands a clipboard to the guard before heading to a desk in the back of the room.

"Come on kid, I got to drop you off at the cells before heading to the director's office to drop this off" and with that we take another walk to the cells, what fun! Did you hear my sarcasm.

Sandra's POV:

"And that's what I got out of him, and what jerry found on his name" I finish telling her

"Hmmm, normally I refuse to get involved in this kind of thing because it's beneath me, but this boy has caught my interest. I'll start working on getting his parents jailed and the Guys in White to back off, but we'll need someone to take custody of him after that, check out the sister see if she's able to take care of him and will allow us to train and use him as an operative"

"Yes ma'am" I say before something she said hits me "uh, ma'am if I may be permitted to ask a question?"

"You may" she responds

"Why do you need to contact the guys in white?"

"Because his second form matches the description of a ghost they're looking for"

"Are you saying that this boy is dead" I grew pretty pale at the thought of it.

"No, more likely he just has an ability that allows him to take on the appearance and powers of a ghost, except he is still alive" and at that cheery thought there was a knock at the door. "come in"

"Ma'am, I've brought the boys test results for you to look through" the soldier handed the director the clipboard and was dismissed and out the door seconds later.

"Hmmm, his vitals are below a regular persons, same with his temperature, and he has quite a few surgical scars, most likely from the various experiments, he has enhanced strength, speed, stamina, healing and senses, what appears to be a form of energy manipulation, though the machine couldn't tell what type, and some other abilities the machine couldn't determine. His organs have been messed with a number of times, his bones broken and cut out, and he smokes a little too much for it to be safe. And finally his mental state is a mess" she quickly went through the data that was collected, before turning to me "we're going to have our work cut out for us, we'll need to fix his mental state get him on a proper diet and into a safe home before trying to train him. Hmmm, captain do you think you can take him in for the time being, if he agrees that is?"

"I believe so ma'am"

"Good present him with the deal and if he agrees proceed if not find a safe place for him anyway but set up a watch on him, don't won't him going down the wrong path after all"

"Yes, ma'am"

"Dismissed" and with that I turned and walked out, head full of the horrors that one boy had to endure, and headed to the cells where the kid was.

 **Danny's POV:**

Wow, being in a cell is as boring as ever, at least I don't have anything to fear here and they gave me food and water so that's nice, but still boring. _Hmm I wonder if they'd give me a laptop if I asked, probably not but worth a shot._ "Hey, guy who's guarding me, can I get a laptop?"

"Sorry kid, I'm not authorized to give you anything but food or water" the guard actually sounded kind of regretful about that.

"It's alright I was just bored" _so, so bored_ I added in my head.

"I know how you feel, I'm not allowed to do anything either, just stand here and give you food or whatever when told to." The guard said before going quiet again when we heard some footsteps coming from down the hall.

When they seemed to stop outside the door I heard the guard say "Captain!" As well as an answering voice, that I almost immediately recognized as Sandra's, "stand down, I'm here to see the kid. The director has an offer for him"

 **AN: Remember I like reviews**


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